J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he
is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The
Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been
translated into over 60 languages and have sold many millions of
copies worldwide.
BRIAN SIBLEY is a writer and broadcaster with a life-long interest
in fantasy books and cinema. His fascination with J. R. R. Tolkien
and the myths and history of Middle-earth led to his
critically-acclaimed BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of the
Rings in which the role of Frodo was played by Ian Holm, who now
portrays Bilbo in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Brian’s subsequent radio dramas included several of Tolkien’s short
novels collected under the title Tales from the Perilous Realm, C.
S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, two series of Tales of the
Bizarre by Ray Bradbury and Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan and
Gormenghast which won him the prestigious Sony Radio Award. His
books include Three Cheers for Pooh, Chicken Run: Hatching the
Movie, Cracking Animation, The Disney Studio Story, The Land of
Narnia and Shadowlands, as well as the text accompanying three maps
by John Howe based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings
and The Silmarillion. Brian is currently writing an in-depth
account of the making of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings
Trilogy for future publication. Alan Lee is the illustrator of the
highly-successful centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings and
diamond edition of The Hobbit. He studied graphic design and the
depiction of Celtic and Norse myths and has illustrated a wide
range of books, including Faeries, Merlin Dreams and Castles, and
was conceptual designer for Terry Jones' film Erik the Viking. He
was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrated edition of
Black Ships Before Troy.
‘Physically beautiful and sometimes overwhelming in its power, this
book is a grand compendium of all Tolkien said about the period
when the foundations of The Lord of the Rings are laid’
John Garth, THE GUARDIAN ‘It brings a Biblical grandeur to
Tolkien’s fictional history’
WINTER IS COMING ‘A trove of source material about one of
Middle-earth’s most intriguing and central back stories. The book
is beautifully illustrated by Alan Lee and nimbly edited by Brian
Sibley’
WASHINGTON POST ‘For those wishing to expand their understanding of
Middle-earth and the incredible legend crafted by Tolkien, this is
an essential piece to complete that puzzle’
BOOK REPORTER ‘How, given little over half a century of work, did
one man become the creative equivalent of a people?’
THE GUARDIAN ‘Demanding to be compared with English mythologies… at
times rises to the greatness of true myth’
FINANCIAL TIMES ‘A creation of singular beauty… magnificent in its
best moments’
WASHINGTON POST ‘With this most recent volume, The Fall of Númenor,
Sibley has beautifully and brilliantly done for Tolkien’s Second
Age what Christopher Tolkien did for the First Age’
NATIONAL REVIEW
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